


oh dear

by what_a_dork_fish



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Fluff, Sickfic, Venom Symbiote Takes Care of Eddie Brock, garbage boyfriends are both sick and miserable, hey there's a tag for that already!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 20:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16541765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_dork_fish/pseuds/what_a_dork_fish
Summary: So there's something interesting about the differences between human and symbiote immune systems...





	oh dear

**Author's Note:**

> God I hate how much I'm enjoying writing these little Symbrock ficlets. I have other fandoms!!!! I have other stories!!!! But no!!!! Eddie and his alien bae will not leave me alone!!!!
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this word-vomit.

“Hey, babe, you okay?”

**I am fine, Eddie.**

“You don’t sound so good.”

**I just need rest.**

Eddie frowns and finishes his orange juice. “You wanna eat someone?” he asks, wondering if the thought of food will help liven Venom up.

**No.**

Okay, something is seriously wrong. “Hey. Talk to me, babe. Are you hurt?”

**I am… sick.**

Eddie blinks at his empty glass. “Sick? Oh, you mean like a virus? How’s that possible?”

**I am not vaccinated against your human diseases. You are, so you don’t feel it.** Venom sounds absolutely miserable. **I will be fine. Please keep drinking orange juice. I think it is helping.**

Eddie immediately gets out the orange juice carton again.

~

“You look worried.”

Eddie smiles quickly at Anne. “Yeah?” he replies, distracted by Venom’s indistinct mumbling. “I guess I am.”

Anne frowns at him. “What’s wrong?” she asks. “If it’s another scoop, you’d better not blow it. You can’t come back from another fuckup.”

Eddie winces. “Yeah, I know. But it’s not that.” He sips his coffee and wonders if it does any good for Venom. He’s vaguely mentioned to Anne that he’s… kind of in a weird relationship. It’s not exactly romantic, but he does feel affection for his symbiote. He’s pretty sure she knows Venom’s not dead, though they’ve never spoken about it. He sighs and puts the coffee down and mutters, “Boyfriend’s sick.”

Anne blinks. “Oh.” Then she grins. “Are you fussing like you did over me? You big softie,” she teases with a chuckle. “I bet you’re gonna drown him in chicken soup.”

Eddie smiles reluctantly. “He said orange juice helps, so I bought three cartons,” he admits.

That earns him a laugh. “You always did like to go overboard.”

~

Venom keeps assuring him he just needs rest, but after a few days turns into two weeks, Eddie becomes very worried. He really shouldn’t. Venom is a hardy alien, he can pull through.

But then Eddie starts feeling it, too.

He gets a cough, which quickly begins bringing up goop. His sinuses stuff up. His throat and chest ache all the time and his breath rattles in his lungs. Venom is apparently very distressed by this, but he’s too weak to do much beyond hug Eddie and keep him warm when the fever starts.

“It’s just a cold,” Eddie tells him weakly, and coughs. “We gotta work on you, first.”

**No, Eddie, I will be fine. Your human body is fragile, though.**

“Yeah, and you got sick from something I didn’t even notice, remember? You’re fragile too.” Eddie chugs orange juice and shambles around the apartment getting dressed. “Okay. We’re going to the doctor.”

The waiting room at the doctor’s office is full of kids. A couple have chickenpox. Eddie decides his next piece will be about anti-vaxxers killing children with their shitty ideas. But for now he’s miserable and worried and has to deal with Venom being miserable and worried back.

The nurse calls his name. He blows his nose quickly and follows her through the door and down the hall.

“How are you today, sir?” she asks, though he can see on her face that she suspects the answer.

“Miserable,” he replies bluntly, rubbing his chest absently. “Caught a cold and it won’t go away.”

“In here, please. Tell me your symptoms.”

Eddie hops up on the examination table and begins slowly to list what’s wrong. Venom keeps fussing, but he ignores it. He’s a little uneasy with the concern growing on the nurse’s face.

“Are your shots up to date?” she asks.

He nods. “Yeah, got ‘em redone last year. I had some problems with…” He frowns, trying to remember what Dan said. “I think he said my immune system was depleted, or something like that. It got better, so I hurried up with the shots as soon as possible, in case it happened again.”

The nurse presses her lips together tightly, then tells him, “It sounds like pneumonia. It might not be, though, we’ve had plenty of flu cases lately, but we’ll give you a check just to be sure.”

Eddie sighs. “Ah, shit. Okay.”

The nurse gives him a go-over, then leaves to get the doctor. Eddie stares at the wall and goes blank, too tired to think right now.

**Eddie?** Venom sends a tendril down his arm and splits it into five so they can hold hands. **Eddie, are you okay?**

“Fine,” he murmurs. “You alright, babe?”

**Yes.** But his voice is just as tired as Eddie’s.

The doctor enters, already frowning. “So, Mr. Brock,” he begins, glancing at his clipboard, “It appears you’re experiencing some alarming symptoms. Are you sure your shots are correct?”

“Yes,” Eddie replies.

“Hm.” The doctor reads through the papers on the clipboard again. “I would like to give you another check. Just a formality. And I want you to tell me if you’ve had any contact with anyone else who’s shown these symptoms.”

Eddie hesitates, then sighs. Might as well say it. He’s very aware that his logic is impaired by sickness, but at the moment he doesn’t care. “My partner got sick two weeks ago and hasn’t gotten better. He’s refusing to talk to any doctors, though. Stubborn bastard,” he mutters.

The doctor withdraws his hand from Eddie very quickly and gives him a wary look. Eddie frowns, confused. “What? Hey, it is not my fault he seems to think he’s invincible.”

“Do either of you have any immune system complications currently?” the doctor asks.

Eddie shakes his head.

“Have you gotten tested recently?”

He frowns, and shakes his head again. What’s he driving at?

“I’d like to start with that. There’s a testing lab at the other end of the building; you should be able to get a result in about twenty minutes.”

“Wait—“ Eddie coughs really hard and his lungs stab with pain. When he can see and breathe again, he croaks, “Don’t blood tests take a few hours?”

“It’d be an oral test, not a blood test,” the doctor replies, still looking uneasy.

Eddie blinks. Then he realizes what the doctor’s trying to say, and anger surges in him. “I don’t have HIV! This is just a cold!”

“Well, do the test anyway,” the doctor orders firmly. “If your immune system _is_ compromised, we need to know why.”

Eddie growls. That does make sense, but he does _not_ have HIV. And even if he did, there’s no reason for the doctor to dance around it like that. And there’s certainly no reason for him to be reluctant just to touch Eddie. He’s got fucking gloves on, he’ll be fine.

He argues a little more, but his brain is still fuzzy, so the doctor wins. He’s prescribed some medication and sent out to visit the lab, scowling. So fucking annoying.

The lab result is negative. He doesn’t have HIV. He feels like running to the doctor and laughing in his fucking face.

He has to hurry to the restroom and throw up before he leaves. Alright, fine. No laughing.

**Eddie, I think I know why you are sick, too.**

“Why?” he asks tiredly as he straps on his helmet.

**I think it’s because I am in your blood as well as the rest of you. My presence is delaying the release of your natural antibodies and cells. I can correct this, but it might take some time. Will you survive?**

It’s almost cute how worried for him Venom is. “Yeah. I’ll be fine, babe. The medicine will keep me going.” He kicks the bike into life and drives away from the doctor’s office.

~

The medicine helps, but he can’t take the recommended dose because it slows Venom down and impairs him further. So Eddie barricades himself in his apartment and sulks around, taking tiny doses and drinking lots of juice. He doesn’t throw up very much, but when he does it leaves him exhausted. So he sticks to fluids and bland food.

He begins to feel better after a few days. Better enough that he calls Anne and tells her cheerfully that he should be fine in a week and could she bring him some tater tots? He’ll give her money in return, of course, but he doesn’t think he should go out when he’s still so sick.

“Dan and I will bring you groceries. And don’t you dare pay us for anything except gas.”

“Oh. Uh. Thank you.”

That evening there’s a knock on his door. He slowly levers himself to his feet and shuffles to the door. But he really does feel better, so it’s a faster shuffle than before. The door is sticking again, but he gets it open and manages a smile for Anne and Dan, who are both laden with bags and looking very concerned. “Hey. Thank you for the groceries. I’m down to some cheese and frozen broccoli.”

“Idiot,” Anne mutters, as she and Dan enter. “This place is filthy, when did you last clean?”

“Dunno.” Eddie shuts the door behind them and wanders over, reaching into a bag and pulling out some Nyquil. “Oh, cool! I used up all mine. Can’t really sleep very well right now.”

Dan frowns and puts his hand on Eddie’s forehead. “You’re burning up. Go sit down, we’ll put these away.”

“Okay.” Eddie takes the Nyquil with him, slumping on the couch as he opens it and pours a small amount into the cup, swallowing quickly. “You know, you really don’t have to stay. You might get sick too.”

“I doubt it.” Anne shakes her head at the empty fridge and puts in two cartons of orange juice. “How’s your boyfriend?”

“Still bad, but he’s getting better.” Eddie doesn’t even care that they don’t know he’s talking about Venom. “Sleeps a lot, which seems to be helping.” He coughs really hard and grabs the tissues in case he coughs up some phlegm. He’s used a lot of tissues.

**Eddie?** Venom sounds exhausted and fuzzy. **Almost done. You’ll be fine in a bit.**

Eddie can’t help a tiny, bitter smile. Worrywart aliens are kinda funny, but it’s not funny that Venom is so tired. He vows to buy some raw meat as soon as he’s better so Venom can have something to munch on.

“Eddie. Hey.” Anne is shaking him. He blinks hard and looks up. She seems quite worried. “Eddie, we’re gonna clean up around here a bit, okay? Take a nap.”

He wants to refuse, but he finds himself nodding and easing down until he’s lying flat on the couch. He’s so tired, and he hurts all over, and he’s really cold. He hopes Venom is doing okay.

~

True to his word, Venom has changed things around so he’s not interfering with Eddie’s immune system, and after another week of wretchedness Eddie is on the mend. He does his best to help Venom out, but there’s not much he can do when human medicine makes Venom woozy. He eats a lot more fish, because Venom likes it and it’s relatively cheap so near the ocean, and avoids alcohol. He works hard on staying healthy so his alien boyfriend doesn’t worry and can focus on himself.

And then one day Eddie wakes up and Venom says, **Eddie, can we eat someone tonight?**

He grins. “Sure thing, babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments = Life, Love, and Happiness.


End file.
